Wednesday's Sports in Brief

NEW YORK (AP) Quarterback Tom Brady's last best chance to avoid serving a four-game ''Deflategate'' suspension to start the new season was flatly rejected by an appeals court.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan issued a one-sentence rejection of requests by the National Football League Players Association and Tom Brady to reconsider an April decision that reinstated the suspension.

The court's action left intact a 2-to-1 ruling by a three-judge panel that found NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell acted within his powers by upholding the suspension of the star quarterback for his role in a scheme to doctor footballs used in a January 2015 playoff game.

The decision affirmed wide-ranging powers given to the commissioner by the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. It was a setback for organized labor groups arguing for due process in employee discipline.

PRO BASKETBALL

DETROIT (AP) - Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green struck a Michigan State football player in the jaw during a weekend confrontation near campus, tried to apologize and then had to sit in jail for a while until he could sober up, according to a police report.

Senior cornerback Jermaine Edmondson - who the school announced has received his release to transfer - claimed he was punched by Green early Sunday outside a restaurant in East Lansing, though officers patrolling the area said they saw or heard a loud, open-handed ''slap.''

Edmondson said it was his second confrontation with Green, a former Michigan State player, in two nights. He told police that he and his girlfriend were choked Friday night by men who were with Green at Rick's, a bar near campus.

He said he spotted Green the next night and tried to talk to him, according to the police report released to The Associated Press.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Duke has an opening on its men's basketball schedule because of the state law that impacts LGBT people.

The Blue Devils were supposed to play Albany on Nov. 12 as part of the Hall of Fame Tipoff tournament but there's no opponent listed on that day in Duke's schedule.

Holly Liapis, spokeswoman for the State University of New York system that includes Albany, says that game won't be played because of New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo's executive order banning publicly funded, non-essential travel to North Carolina.

Cuomo's order is in response to a North Carolina law that opponents say can allow discrimination against LGBT people.

Liapis said SUNY and its campuses continue to support Gov. Cuomo ''on taking this stand.''

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

HOOVER, Ala. (AP) - The College Football Playoff will consider moving future semifinals off New Year's Eve if it can help increase viewership.

Executive director Bill Hancock told reporters at Southeastern Conference Media Days the conference commissioners who make up the playoff management committee are open to changing future schedules, starting in 2019 when the semifinals are scheduled for New Year's Eve.

The first College Football Playoff after the 2014 season drew record television ratings for ESPN when the semifinals were played on New Year's Day. The first game, the Rose Bowl, kicked off around 5:30 p.m. ET. TV ratings dropped 36 percent for the semifinals played after last season when the games kicked off at similar times on New Year's Eve.

Hancock says alternatives to New Year's Eve are beginning to be explored.

COLLEGE SPORTS

WACO, Texas (AP) - Baylor has chosen Mack Rhoades from Missouri as its new athletic director.

Rhoades replaces Ian McCaw, who resigned on May 30, less than a week after he was put on probation as part of Baylor's response to a scathing report about its failure to properly respond to allegations of sexual assaults. That report also led the departure of football coach Art Briles.

Interim school president David Garland says Rhoades is a charismatic leader who pays careful attention to details and cultivates solidarity among coaches and staff.

Rhoades had been Missouri's athletic director only since April 2015, a month after he was named to the position. He previous was AD at Houston and Akron.

ESPY AWARDS

LOS ANGELES (AP) - LeBron James won five trophies, including best male athlete and best NBA player, at the ESPY Awards when frivolity gave way to a James-led call to end gun violence and racial profiling.

The show honoring the year's best athletes and sports moments opened on a somber note, with James and fellow NBA stars Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Dwyane Wade standing four abreast on stage addressing the recent shootings of blacks by white police officers.

Paul, the nephew of a police officer, recited the names of several black men who have been killed, most shot. Wade urged a stop to racial profiling, a shoot-to-kill mentality and ''not seeing the value of black and brown bodies.''

James urged his fellow pros to educate themselves and renounce violence while using their resources and time to help strengthen and rebuild their communities.